US set to extend waivers on Iran oil sanctions

In June, U.S. officials said Iran's oil exports have declined from about 2.5 million barrels a day last year to between 1.2 million and 1.8 million barrels a day, choking a key source of revenue for the regime, which remains defiant over international demands that it prove that its nuclear program is peaceful.

The U.S. sanctions target foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank by barring them from opening or maintaining correspondent operations in the United States. The sanctions would apply to foreign central banks only for transactions that involve the sale or purchase of petroleum or petroleum products and then only if the Obama administration determined that there was enough non-Iranian oil available to make up the difference without disrupting oil markets.